A day before the 2022 NBA draft began the first major trade was announced. The trade focuses on PF/SF Jerami Grant who has been rumored to be mentioned in trade rumors. The teams involved in this deal are the Portland Trail Blazers and Detroit Pistons. The details of the trade are down below.
Portland Trail Blazers Acquire: PF/SF Jerami Grant and a 2020 2nd round pick (36th Overall)
Detroit Pistons Acquire: 2025 1st Round Pick (Top 4), a 2020 2nd Round Pick (46th Overall), 2025 2nd Round Pick, 2026 2nd Round Pick
Portland Trail Blazers Side
Portland had to make a move and surround Damian Lillard. It never made a lot of sense when the Trail Blazers decided to trade CJ McCollum to the Pelicans. The deal was maainly made for salary reasons, but Lillard had no help at all since McCollum got traded.
Last season Grant was getting better, but injuries took him out for a portion of the season. When healthy, Grant can be a nice piece for this team as he is versatile on both offense and defense. Grant is also 28 years old and still has a lot more basketball in him. He should fit well in the Trail Blazers system in the short and long term once the Trail Blazers sign him to an extension.
Detroit Pistons Side
I don’t hate this trade at all for the Pistons as they acquired a lot of draft picks. However, the Pistons could have gotten a lot more in trading Grant. I am guessing the Pistons were more interested in doing this due to salary reasons. Them making this deal clears 43 million dollars in cap space and it also created a 21 million trade exception.
Going into the draft picks it may seem like a lot as the Pistons technically got 3 picks. But the picks are not that great. 2nd Round picks are truly lottery tickets. The Bucks could be a different team in 2025, but Giannis is not going anywhere. He is a free agent in 2026 and the Bucks should be a strong team for awhile. But the Pistons are rebuilding and could use these draft picks in a trade to acquire players. Plus with more cap space, the Pistons can surround Cade Cunningham with players.
Grades for Jerami Grant trade
Portland Trail Blazers: B+
Detroit Pistons: B
Overall this is a Win-Win deal, but I have to give leveraged to the Portland Trail Blazers. They get another player to surround Lillard and build for the future. The Pistons also win getting salary cap, a trade exception, and extra draft capital to build the team. Overall great move by Trail Blazers GM Joe Cronin and Detroit Pistons GM Troy Weaver.
Hello my name is Nicholas and I am a writer for Moore Than Sports. I am a graduate from Farmingdale State College. Currently I am enrolled at Canisius College going for my Masters Degree in Sports Administration. My favorite sports teams are the New York Jets, Jacksonville Jaguars, Charlotte Hornets, Buffalo Sabers, New York Rangers, and New York Yankees. I enjoy watching sports, analyzing transactions, scouting football players, and of course writing sports articles.
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